2 months ago
2
Shivalik, an Indian-flagged LPG bearer with a cargo-carrying capableness of much than 54,000 tonnes, has crossed the Strait of Hormuz arsenic connected Friday nighttime (March 13, 2026), according to marinetraffic.com, an online portal that tracks merchant ships movement.
As per the website, the vessel had departed from Ras Laffan, Qatar, on March 7 and was primitively destined for the U.S. The Indian Navy has denied reports that the Shivalik is being guided by naval vessels.
The LPG bearer is owned by the Shipping Corporation of India. Built successful 2008, its archetypal proprietor was Qatar Shipping Co. The SCI is the ship’s 5th owner, arsenic per the shipping database equasis.com.
The Shivalik’s 55,000 tonnes of cargo could magnitude to nearly one day of India’s LPG imports. The Shivalik and the Sahyadri, different LPG carrier, were inducted into the SCI’s fleet successful August-September of 2025. The Shivalik was among the 24 ships that were stranded upstream of Strait of Hormuz since the struggle started connected February 28. The Sahyadri is astatine contiguous located connected the westbound seashore of India.
Earlier astatine a briefing on Friday (March 13, 2026), a elder authorities authoritative said that of the 28 Indian-flagged ships successful the Persian Gulf-Gulf of Oman portion that had stopped moving with the commencement of the West Asia struggle connected February 28, 1 lipid tanker bound for Africa, Jag Prakash, had started moving.
The Jag Prakash, an lipid products tanker with a carrying capableness of 48,000 tonnes cargo and owned by Great Eastern Shipping Company, was among the 4 ships stranded eastbound of the Strait of Hormuz. This means that, dissimilar the Shivalik, it did not person to transverse the strait that the newly elected Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said indispensable stay closed. The Jag Prakash loaded astatine Sohar larboard successful Oman, and its archetypal destination was Tanzania.
Three much Indian-flagged cargo ships with 76 seafarers aboard are still located in the Gulf of Oman, portion the 23 ships wrong the Persian Gulf westbound of the Strait of Hormuz proceed to stay stranded, according to officials.
Shipping manufacture leaders person been expecting alleviation and indications from the government advising ships to move astatine oversea aft Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian connected March 12. But the authorities had said the aforesaid time that it was premature to expect Iran to let Indian ships to transverse the strait.
At a media briefing connected Friday (March 13, 2026), Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary, Shipping and Waterways Ministry, said determination were 23,000 Indian nationals moving successful the Persian Gulf portion connected merchant ships, ports, and offshore vessels. The Directorate General of Shipping was successful changeless interaction with them and each applicable stakeholders, helium said.
Four Indian sailors person been killed successful attacks since the opening of the war. On March 11, an Indian seafarer was killed erstwhile his ship, Safesea Vishnu, was attacked adjacent Basra, Iraq, successful what has been described arsenic a termination mission. The remaining 15 Indian unit members are reported to beryllium safe. The owners of the vas are based successful New Jersey, U.S., and the ship carries the emblem of Marshall Island, but the vas is managed by Bravo Ship Management based successful Chennai, India.
Strait of Hormuz indispensable stay closed, says Iran’s caller leader
In the crosshairs
Crossing the volatile strait carries risks that shippers are unwilling to bear. When the struggle started, immoderate 600 ships were reportedly stranded in the portion due to the fact that of fearfulness of attacks.
Shenlong, the crude lipid bearer carrying 1 cardinal barrels of lipid that docked successful Mumbai connected Wednesday (March 11), had crossed the strait connected March 8. Reports person described the perilous travel it undertook to transverse the strait successful a portion wherever GPS spoofing and jamming are commonly deployed arsenic warfare tools. Such measures tin confuse ships by giving mendacious locations. The vessel had apparently gone into “digital darkness” and utilized manual navigation to safely transverse the strait.
When equipped with the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that identifies the vas and tin marque the vessel casual to track, it puts the carriers successful information of attacks, says Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, a maritime accusation journal. “We person observed 77 transits crossed the Strait of Hormuz since March 1, fractional of whom were ‘shadow fleet’. Iranian ships carrying fuels proceed to transverse the strait. Seventeen were ‘dark transits’, which means the AIS of the vessel was switched off, and immoderate of them were mainstream fleet vessels specified arsenic Shenlong,” helium said.
Though it would beryllium expected that vessels affiliated with the U.S., Israel, and Europe would beryllium targeted by Iran, determination has been nary signifier successful the 16 ships that person been attacked truthful far, helium says. “This is dissimilar successful the Red Sea wherever the Houthis targeted ships that had definite affiliations,” says Mr. Meade.
Exercise restraint
Meanwhile, the Union authorities has expressed interest implicit unverified reports astir vessels operating in the Gulf portion and the Strait of Hormuz being circulated crossed societal media and messaging platforms.
In an advisory, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said the circulation of unconfirmed and speculative accusation was causing unnecessary anxiousness and distress among seafarers and their household members.
“Responsible connection volition assistance forestall misinformation, trim panic among seafarers and their families, and support assurance wrong the maritime assemblage during this delicate period,” the advisory issued a fewer days agone to maritime stakeholders and seafarers assemblage said.
The DGS urged each maritime stakeholders, shipping companies, employee unions and individuals to workout restraint and work portion sharing accusation related to maritime incidents oregon information developments successful the region.
It underlined the request to refrain from forwarding or publishing unverified accusation and guarantee that lone authenticated updates from authoritative sources and competent authorities were disseminated.
“The Directorate General of Shipping continues to intimately show the concern successful coordination with applicable authorities and moving unneurotic with stakeholders to guarantee that lone close and verified accusation reaches the seafarer community,” the advisory said.
With inputs from Vijay Kumar
